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<blockquote data-quote="Mannahnin" data-source="post: 8848836" data-attributes="member: 7026594">I don't think it's &quot;instead of&quot;.&nbsp; Your choices lead to rolls.&nbsp; Or NO rolls if the DM judges that your plan is one where success would be functionally guaranteed.&nbsp; The consequences of a roll may be MORE random than a lot of us would prefer in some situations, but that's mostly a matter of degree- maybe I think my character's realistic odds of success at a given task would be 95%- maybe the mechanics make it 75%.&nbsp; Unless I'm a stickler I probably only care if I fail by rolling a 2-4. Yes, the odds on quite a lot of checks are probably lower than they would &quot;realistically&quot; be, but as Gygax kept harping back in 1E, and has continued to be the case, the point of D&amp;D isn't realism.&nbsp; It's excitement and drama.&nbsp; And exaggerated chances for failure allow more opportunities for drama. If we take as a maxim &quot;all bad consequences should be because of a choice you made, NOT a random die roll&quot;, we get into a game mode I don't think would be as appealing to most players.&nbsp; There's a reason I loved fantasy wargaming with tactics PLUS dice and made it a major hobby for 15 years, but chess has never held my attention.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Mannahnin, post: 8848836, member: 7026594"] I don't think it's "instead of". Your choices lead to rolls. Or NO rolls if the DM judges that your plan is one where success would be functionally guaranteed. The consequences of a roll may be MORE random than a lot of us would prefer in some situations, but that's mostly a matter of degree- maybe I think my character's realistic odds of success at a given task would be 95%- maybe the mechanics make it 75%. Unless I'm a stickler I probably only care if I fail by rolling a 2-4. Yes, the odds on quite a lot of checks are probably lower than they would "realistically" be, but as Gygax kept harping back in 1E, and has continued to be the case, the point of D&D isn't realism. It's excitement and drama. And exaggerated chances for failure allow more opportunities for drama. If we take as a maxim "all bad consequences should be because of a choice you made, NOT a random die roll", we get into a game mode I don't think would be as appealing to most players. There's a reason I loved fantasy wargaming with tactics PLUS dice and made it a major hobby for 15 years, but chess has never held my attention. [/QUOTE]

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